She tried to shelter pets from Hurricane Florence. Now she’s been arrested.

A screenshot from CBS17’s coverage of animals confiscated by Wayne County animal services from a Hurricane Florence temporary emergency shelter. CBS17

A screenshot from CBS17’s coverage of animals confiscated by Wayne County animal services from a Hurricane Florence temporary emergency shelter. CBS17

This story was updated as of 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018.

The director of an animal rescue nonprofit in North Carolina said she was just trying to do the right thing by taking in pets stranded by Hurricane Florence. Wayne County officials arrested her, the rescue says.

“On Monday, September 17, 2018, Wayne County Animal Services responded to 152 NC Highway 581 in Goldsboro at the request of the NC State Department of Agriculture. Wayne County Animal Services made contact with Ms. Tammie Hedges and upon entering the facility they developed serious concerns regarding the practice of veterinary medicine without a license and the presence of controlled substances,” Wayne County said in the statement.

The animals that were surrendered “were checked out by a licensed veterinarian and Animal Services is working to reunite them with their owners,” according to the county’s statement.

Wayne County animal services “turned the case over to the Wayne County District Attorney’s office based on suspicion of practicing veterinarian medicine without a license and presence of controlled substances ... Ms. Hedges is considered innocent until proven guilty,” according to the county’s statement.

The rescue said on Facebook that Hedges was charged because she tried to administering medication to animals in need when local veterinarians were inaccessible. The Schedule 4 controlled substance was a medication for the animals, the rescue said.

The rescue kept the animals in a temporary warehouse space in Rosewood, according to The News-Argus report. The nonprofit — which serves Wayne, Johnston, Lenoir and Wilson counties — currently operates out of pet foster homes.

“The goal was to make sure that they were not out there drowning,” Hedges told CBS17. “The owners were just going to leave them, in a flood zone, on chains. We don’t want that.”

Wayne Animal Service Manager Frank Sauls said the matter is under investigation. “If we didn’t feel like anything was being done wrong, we should not have taken (the animals),” Sauls said, according to The News-Argus.

PAWS Humane has taken in 30 animals from shelters impacted by Hurricane Florence. The dogs have been placed in temporary foster homes and the cats are onsite at PAWS Humane. Here's how you can help those animals here, and perhaps make room for more.